1. Irvine Swim League Officials Training 2018
June 2nd, 2018

2. Philosophy of Judging for the ISL Changes for 2018 Soft vs. Hard DQ’s
Agenda
Introductions
Philosophy of Judging for the ISL
Changes for 2018
Soft vs. Hard DQ’s
Stroke Review (Feel free to ask ?’s between each stroke & if I don’t know the answer, I will be sure and get back to you in the next few days.
Butterfly
Backstroke
Breaststroke
Freestyle
Individual Medley
Relays
Review

3. Philosophy of Judging for the ISL
Just like any other sport, rules are an important part of the race. They are enacted in order to ensure that athletes are able to compete fairly against other participants in a recreational, yet competitive environment.

4. Philosophy of Judging for the ISL (Cont.)
ISL Official Guiding Principles
It is your responsibility to fairly apply those rules consistently in order to provide our children with an exceptional swimming experience.
It is your responsibility to view DQ’s as an important instructional tool.
It is your responsibility to remember that the swimmer ALWAYS gets the benefit of the doubt in cases where you are not sure.
If you feel a swimmer is gaining a competitive advantage by swimming a stroke incorrectly, then it is in your best judgement to implement the ISL disqualification guidelines.

5. Changes for 2018
Last year, we have harmonized the ISL DQ codes to the 2017 USA swimming DQ codes so that your paid officials would have an easier time with recording DQs
For those parents who act as officials, we desired to make the numbering system more simplistic and intuitive
This year USA Swimming went back to older previous codes.
While our ISL DQ numbering system will harmonize with USA Swimming Codes, there will be NO material change to the rules vs last year.

6. Soft DQ’s VS Hard DQ’s
A Soft DQ is a form of administrative relief for young swimmers. It is still a technical violation but one that will be overlooked by the head table.
It allows the swimmer to complete the race, as an official swim in order to qualify for heat, place and time improvement ribbons.
Soft DQ swims do count for ISL Champs.
A soft DQ enforced:
5-6 year-olds: first four (4) swim meets (not including Time Trials/practice meet) –through July 21st
7-8 year-olds: first two (2) swim meets (not including Time Trials/practice meet) - through June 30th
The full technical rules will be re-established once enforcement period is over.

7. Soft DQ’s VS Hard DQ’s (cont.)
Hard DQ’s – 9 & Older (all meets)
Place/points/time do not count, not eligible for Champs, and not eligible for participation ribbons.
Soft DQ’s – 8 & Under
They get written as a DQ to head table – still get time and place – use as a learning tool for coaches during practices
At ISL, high school rules will trump USA swimming rules
For backstroke, kicking to wall at turn and submerged at finish to touch wall allowed
Time Trials / Practice meet – times not allowed to qualify for Championship meet – all DQs will be SOFT- for instructional purposes only and to help with volunteers

8. Butterfly

9. Butterfly Soft DQ 2 hands not touching wall at turn/finish
Soft DQ 2 hand touch is not simultaneous
Soft DQ No Touch wall at turn/finish
Soft DQ If scissor, flutter or breast kick used
Soft DQ Feet not kicking simultaneously (You’ll see a lot of this with the little ones)
Soft DQ Arms don’t recover over water/underwater recovery
Soft DQ Arm movement not simultaneous
Hard DQ Body not at/past vertical toward the breast
Hard DQ Swims wrong stroke
Hard DQ 15 meter underwater rule
Notes:
If you’re seeing an unfair competitive advantage, such as pulling on a lane to move
them forward, that is a DQ. If they are resting on the lane line, that is OK.
The 5/6’s will inevitably do all of these.

10. Backstroke

11. Backstroke Soft DQ No Touch wall at turn / finish
Soft DQ Toes curled over gutter at start (starter- observed) – toes are allowed to come right up to edge of gutter but not above and/or over
Soft DQ Not staying on back at turn/finish (a lot of 8 & under will have a hard time with this)
Hard DQ Not waiting for Starter’s instruction to enter the water
Hard DQ Not staying on back
Hard DQ 15 meter underwater rule
Hard DQ Turn – more than one arm pull at turn
Notes:
It’s OK to Kick in to wall if needed (high school rules) if they are too far from wall.
It’s OK in ISL to skull backwards if they turn too early at the wall, but it’s a DQ if they miss the wall altogether.

12. Backstroke (Cont.) Notes (Cont.)
There is currently not a rule about diving in (rather than stepping/jumping feet first), but starters are to tell swimmers to enter water feet first and/or step-in.
Finish – We want the timers looking over the edge to get the time and make sure they click right when the kids physically touch the wall (with any part of their body).
Mention to the timers about NOT grabbing their heads. Keep their hand flush against the wall with their palm on wall so they run into their hand
You’ll see the little kids often roll over – must stay on their back.

13. Breaststroke

14. Breaststroke Soft DQ One hand touch at turn and/or finish
Soft DQ Touch is not simultaneous
Soft DQ No Touch at turn or finish
Soft DQ Arms not pulling simultaneously
Soft DQ Arms pull past shoulders/hips after first stroke
Soft DQ If scissor, dolphin or flutter kick used
Soft DQ Alternating kick or downward butterfly kick
Soft DQ Head Under -2 or more strokes under water – Start/Turn (head must break surface by the widest part of second stroke)
Soft DQ Cycle – Head not up or breaking surface during stroke cycle (one cycle is 1 arm stroke & 1 leg kick)
Soft DQ Cycle – kick before pull and/or double pull/kicks or vice-versa
Hard DQ Body not on breast off wall/turn
Notes:
After start and each turn, a single underwater stroke past hips and a single downward butterfly kick followed by a breaststroke kick is permitted while wholly submerged.
Little ones may take 4 or 5 underwater pulls and come up and take 2 or 3 more pulls. What your looking for is someone getting a competitive advantage.
Olders – most of what you’re looking for is that they don’t pull past the hip.

15. Freestyle

16. Freestyle
Hard DQ If a part of the swimmer’s body does not touch wall at turn and finish
Hard DQ 15 meter underwater rule

17. Individual Medley

18. Individual Medley All individual stroke rules apply
Strokes must be swum correctly (see below) and in proper order.
1) FLY 2) BACK 3) BREAST 4) FREE
Repeat one of first three strokes
Turns: Backstroke to Breaststroke Transition – Must touch wall while on back before turn to breast (can flip over legs or do an open turn).

19. Relays All starts at deep end of pool
For 5-8 yo relays, starts at shallow end must start in water for association pools; however at ISL Champs, they can dive in from ground/deck/platform
For coaches/parent’s relay swims in association pools, please swim 50’s so that each swimmer is diving in from deep end of pool
No early take-offs (e.g. feet losing touch of platform)
Medley Relay – Must follow proper order :
1) Back 2) Breast 3) Fly 4) Free
OK track starts (encouraged for better balance)
Individual stroke infraction rules apply
Finishes - you do have the final call. If you’re not sure, say, “Go by time”. But remember that the time CAN be off, due to when the stop watch was clicked in the beginning.

20. Fly Over Starts
Also called Dive Over Starts – mandatory for ages 9 and up
Exception: there are no fly over starts for backstroke or relays
When all swimmers in a heat finish swimming, they stay in the water, move to the corner of the lane and remain stationary until after the next heat has started.
When directed by the officials, all swimmers exit the water as quickly as possible after the next heat begins racing.
Requires a good starter to keep things moving and educate the kids in this process.

21. Swimming Videos
For reference, each team should have a copy of this video from 2008.
If you go to usaswimming.org, you can still purchase a copy.
Also, latest official’s training videos from USA Swimming can be found at:

22. ISL Paid Officials List – please budget $200/meet or less
NAME
PHONE #
C.J. WANSER
KENT LI
MIKE MCMINN
TOM MIRABELLA
CELL
JUDY SHIM
IVA ICHEVA
MITCHELL QUINTANILLA
WES JACKERT
RALPH DIAZ
MARTINA BARRAGAN
MARIA KAGEYAMA

23. Wrap Up
You’re going to see a lot more situations than the video shows.
Remember that if you don’t have a paid official, you’ll need 2 trained parent volunteers on deck. If you somehow don’t have it, find out if other team can provide.
Parent volunteer officials need to be certified/trained every two years.
Thank you to all of you veteran and new judges for taking the time to brush up on another year of officiating

24. Thank you

25. Appendix www.irvineswimleague.org Inouye_Darren@yahoo.com
June 3rd, 2017

26. NEW ISL DISQUALIFICATIONS CHEAT SHEET (2017)
Updating for 2018
*Note: during IM, an incorrect backstroke to breaststroke transition would be
Coded as 5A – 2H

27. OLD ISL DISQUALIFICATIONS CHEAT SHEET (2003) – Effective immediately, please discard these codes